This invention relates to stirring assemblies of the type used in grain bins, such as are disclosed in said copending application Ser. No. 877,951 of Eugene G. Sukup, and more particularly to drive assemblies of the type employed to move a sweep arm and one or more stirring augers carried thereon around a grain bin. Specifically, this invention relates to the species of drive system illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the aforementioned application, and was made by me subsequent to the development by Eugene G. Sukup of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 of said application.
In modern grain storage systems, it has been found that the movement and stirring of grain within a bin facilitates drying and storage thereof without spoilage. Grain stirring typically is accomplished by one or more augers suspended on a sweep arm which sweeps around the bin. To maximize stirring effectiveness, it is desirable to alter the stirring paths of one or more such augers during each sweep around the bin. In so doing, stirring of substantially all of the grain in the bin may be accomplished in a minimum number of sweeps. To achieve such grain stirring in the shortest amount of time, it is desirable that the sweep arm and, hence, the stirring augers be in continuous sweep movement around the bin, while certain of the stirring augers move radially along the arm. A prevalent mode of altering the stirring paths is to move one or more of the stirring augers radially inwardly and outwardly along the sweep arm by rotating or counterrotating the arm. To achieve such movement of the stirring augers radially of the sweep arm, while at the same time continually moving the sweep arm around the bin in the same direction, the rotation of the sweep arm must be independent of the advancing drive force which effects sweep arm movement around the bin.
As disclosed in FIGS. 1-3 of the aforementioned application Ser. No. 877,951, continual travel of the sweep arm around the grain bin while permitting independent rotation thereof may be accomplished by using a separate motor for each function. As an alternative, a single motor and reversal drive mechanism at the center, with a drive rod extending through the outer sleeve also will provide such independent rotation; see FIG. 5 of said application. Such assemblies, however, necessitate a plurality of power sources or other drive components resulting in a multiplicity of parts which may be difficult to assemble or may increase operational problems.